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Monday, May 10, 2010

High Winds Make Big Waves on Lake Erie

There was a high wind warning with gale force winds on Saturday after a large cold front (with lots of nasty storms) moved through the area on Friday night. Of course, when I hear “high wind warning” it’s time to head to Mentor Headlands Beach in order to watch the big waves on Lake Erie. This time, though, as my husband and I drove up to the east parking lot, we noticed a dusty cloud over the area which my husband recognized as a mini-sandstorm. After getting out of the car, we were pelleted with grains of sand that really stung. We weren’t even near the beach yet. As we walked up to the stand of trees before we arrived on the beach, the wind was even stronger. Upon walking on to the beach area, no longer getting some wind protection from the trees, my husband commented, “I think we made a mistake.” It was funny but not funny at the same time, as the wind almost knocked us over, and not only were we being hit with grains of sand, but it felt like there were small pebbles being thrown around as well. But after a momentary pause, we figured we were there, we might as well try to get close to the beach and try to catch a photo of the waves against the lighthouse at the eastern end. We had to walk sideways to protect our faces from being sandblasted, and it was nearly impossible to walk. We estimated the sustained winds to be about 55-60 mph. There was one lone gull that seemed to be having a good time flying into the wind, though. While my husband helped me to stay standing, I took a few photos. It really was very beautiful despite the wind and I’m glad we didn’t get blown away. (click on any image for a larger view)